


A Burden No Man Should Carry

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: Among Magic and Relics [3]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Caretaking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Trauma, Unrequited Love, Wong is amazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:22:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Wong takes care of Stephen in the aftermath of Dormammu.





	A Burden No Man Should Carry

Stephen skin ached. Every inch of him crawled with phantom pains and harsh fingers, every breath was met by equally startled hearts and lungs. He shouldn’t be alive. He shouldn’t be standing in the streets of Hong Kong where people milled, supremely uninterested in their gathering of sorcerers.

There should be violet eyes. There should be pain. There should be screams and a baritone voice, and harsh unyielding pressure. Instead, darkness and florescent lights filled his eyes, shop windows and streetlamps.

He didn’t feel real. In his mind, years had passed, not mere seconds.

A laugh.

Quiet and breathy shattered the smog of confusion and shivering sensitivity. Stephen turned to look and found Wong, a wide smile spread over his lips, obviously born from relief and adrenalin. The librarian’s hands settled on his hips as he gasped a little, head nodding like Stephen had just pulled off the most miraculous of magic tricks…and well he supposed he had.

For some reason, seeing that expression on his friend’s face was enough to bring the world sharply back into focus. Stephen’s vision shook a bit and the colourful hues of another dimension faded from his eyes. He found himself smiling too, a little incredulously and a lot grateful as he finally let himself relax, surprised when it wasn’t met with pain.

The reassurance didn’t last long.

Mordo wasn’t as impressed.

Stephen felt like he was going to throw up. Mordo wasn’t wrong, he’d violated the rules of nature just as the Ancient One had, yet he couldn’t apologize for saving these people. He didn’t have it in him.

He watched Mordo walk away and it felt like the ground had been snatched out from beneath him.

It was a lot. Stephen was exhausted and the migraine pounding through his skull was actually becoming a concern in its intensity. He could feel his mind trying to process all of these new memories and the weight of the Eye around his neck was quickly becoming staggering.

A solid hand gripped his forearm, Wong’s urgent voice in his ear, telling him to stay awake. It felt wrong somehow, Stephen wanted Wong to be laughing, smiling like he had been because it was nice, a good sound among all this bad.

The last thing Stephen recalled was Wong’s grim face hovering over him, the look in his eye the only thing betraying his fear. For some reason, that was worse than all the decades he’d spent with Dormammu all at once.

\---

Stephen came to slowly. The first thing he became aware of was the crackling of the fire, the shifting to his right, the feeling of scratchy quilts weighing him down. Stephen didn’t open his eyes, too busy being distracted by the feeling of something missing, in his head, a wide-open hole that was aching to be filled. Memories, there were supposed to be memories there, painful ones shadowed in green and violet.

Stephen’s opened his eyes just as panic spiked in his chest, prepared to do something, anything that might fill the hole inside his mind. The flare of determination was short-lived, however, when the first thing he set sight on, was Wong.

He was sitting in the armchair only a few paced away from the bed. In his lap was a book, something more sturdy and recent, that could survive a sorcerer falling asleep on it. Wong was resting against the chair, eyes closed, and expression tight with distress.

It shouldn’t make him smile but it did.

Stephen was alright. If Wong was there, then everything would be fine.

He was tempted to wake him. Wanted to seem him open those dark eyes and maybe, just maybe grace him with a smile. He didn’t. No, Stephen eased himself back against the pillows, quickly becoming aware of the bruises and aches dotting his skin.

Stephen felt safe here. They were back in Kamar-Taj, that much was obvious. The room was small and the bed barely large enough to fit his tall form. It was dark, though some warm sunlight seeped through a window with a thick cloth curtain drawn overtop. Besides the distinctive ambiance, Stephen could just make out the distant chatter of people from the streets below. On the bedside table, Stephen spotted tea and a tiny plate of fresh fruits, no doubt all he’d be allowed to eat for the next couple of days.

He was oddly ok with that if it meant Wong would be caring for him. It seemed that duty had fallen to him, why else would he be there? Well…there was the one thing. Before everything had gone to hell, before the Ancient One had revealed her true actions; there were late night debates in libraries and cocky remarks regarding spell work, too small smiles, and one memorable touch of lips, chaste and uncertain for them both.

Maybe it hadn’t been as one sided as Stephen feared it was. Maybe he’ll have the chance to find out. This was assuming he wasn’t thrown from Kamar-Taj in a heartbeat for what he had done with the Time Stone.

Speaking of which.

Stephen glanced down at his chest, only to find it completely bare. No robes and no Eye. The Cloak lay over the covers, curled up on his lower half and seemingly waiting for Stephen to gain the energy to get up. He patted it affectionally, it wouldn’t be any time soon.

There was the smallest of huffs, some shifting, and Stephen looked at Wong, waiting for the man to open his eyes. It didn’t happen. He just sighed again and settled into his sleep. It was alright, Stephen could be patient, and it looked like the man needed it anyway.

Stephen let his own eyes fall closed, probing gently at the empty space in his mind and trying not to let the nausea overwhelm him. What he found, besides distant rumblings and phantom pains; was a smile and a soft breathy laugh that made everything feel ok.

He let himself drift back to sleep with memory on repeat.


End file.
